What kinds of food should a new momma kitty have?

Question

My 1 year old cat is due to have her babies any day now. I am wondering if there is anything special I should feed her/give to her? Can she have milk? Should she have vitamins? And, how old will the babies be before they start eating/drinking on their own? Should they start with milk and soft food?

I know that the momma kitty should have kitten food (I understand that), but the problem I have is we also have another cat that is not pg and is also a year old. Would it be ok for her to eat the kitten food as well? I hate to buy 2 kinds of food and try to separate them when eating, especially since the momma kitty eats so much so often.

Answer 1

Mommy cat should be eating KITTEN FOOD now -- actually, from the minute you find out she's pregnant -- up until AT LEAST the time she weans the kittens. She needs the extra nutrition to gestate them and then to nurse them.
Milk isn't a good idea - it could upset hre tummy. Don't give it to the babies, either.
The babies will nurse from mommy for at least 4 weeks. They'll continue probably for 6-8 weeks minimum, and you can let them nurse until mommy says it's time to quit. They should stay with her until 12 weeks if possible, but absolutely NO LESS than 8 weeks.
Around 4-6 weeks you can introduce kitten food to them, as well. If it's dry food, make sure it's moistened with warm water and then mashed so it's soft for their little baby teeth. You can even get kitten formula and mix it up with canned kitten food so it's soupy, if you want, but they really won't need the formula mixture as long as they're nursing on the mommy cat.
Make sure mommy cat has LOTS of food and water. She needs to eat tons while pregnant/nursing -- as much as she wants. And the kittens will be eating every 2-3 hours.

Oh yes, and when you watch them nurse, you will see the cutest thing ever. When they're almost done with a feeding, all their little ears will start bobbing. Insanely cute!

Enjoy -- it's gonna be an adventure.

Oh yes, prepare for the "biting". Kittens LOVE to bite once their baby teeth come in!

Answer 2

Feed her kitten chow. This will give her all she needs in nutrition. Plus when the kittens are old enough to eat solid food, they will recognize the smell of the kitten chow & eat it cause it tastes like mom's milk. Milk is okay in moderation...too much will make her sick. The klitten chow should give her all the vitamins she needs. The kittens will be about 4 weeks old when they start ot eat on thier own. At that ime, just take the kitten chow & mix it with milk or warm water to soften it up for them. They will just be getting in thier teeth then & will need soft food for about 2 or 3 weeks, then gradually put less water in the food & eventually, they will be eating dry food.

Answer 3

Feed her a food that is suitable for both kittens and adult cats that way they can both enjoy. when my cat had kittens, i fed it Whikas Dry Cat Food and it seemed to work fine. You can let her drink special lactating milk. The kittens will be drinking milk from the mother for the next 5-6 weeks or so. shortly after that you may introduce it to moist food and eventually crunchy dry food. This transition process is called weaning. It should be weaned during 6-8 weeks. if you are planning on selling the kittens, sell them during the end of weaning because if they get too old, it will be hard for them to transition to a new family when their alredy acustumed to being with the momma cat. Hopefully this is helpful to you.

Answer 4

feed mama good quality kitten food, dry and wet. she will need to be fed several times a day nd leave dry food and fresh water down at all times. you can give her "cat" milk available from pet stores. cows milk is not good for cats and can cause diarreah if given too much. they even have cheese flavored milk! you can also treat her will some meats, my cats love gerber baby meat in the little jars. a feral mama kitty i feed loves sardines in olive oil every now and then. lost of protein for mama, cats bodies don't stroe protein so they need a constant source. make sure you feed her extra all the way through until she weans her babies as she will need the extra nutrician. babies can start to be weaned at around 8 weeks at the earliest. people will tell you 6, but i feel this is too soon. you can however give mama a helping hand by supplimenting their nursing with wet kitten food and maybe sofened mashed kitten crunches mixed in with it at around 5-6 weeks. a feral mama and a domesticated mama left to her own devices will nurse her babies for up to 12 weeks. if you will be finding homes for the babies wait as long as possible, maybe around 12 weeks as they are bigger and more established. adopting out tiny six week olds can be dangerous as they are still so fragile and can be easily hurt or killed accidentally, stepped on, shut in door ets....

Answer 5

Milk water half and half, cottage cheese and little rice mix in milk water. When the babies eye are open and walking around you can let them have milk water on a plate sometime you have put they face in it and sometime Mommy will show them how so just go with it. When they start drinking and eating a little it time to have a cat pan for them to go to the bathroom and mommy will use it to it help them to understand what to do. Good Luck. Have fun. take allot of picture.

Answer 6

the mom should be getting vitamins or supplements whatever she eats gets passed on to the babies i recommend if you want to give her milk give her KMR (kitten milk replacer ) it has all the nutrition for little babies . as long as the litter is not enormous the kittens will be eat from their mom till normally start to see them lap at the KMR you are giving the mom i would try placing some canned kitten food in their and they should try to eat along with the mom they should be completely weaned between 6-8 weeks of age , good luck with them
Amy